


You Haunt Me

by SecretlyADog



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Author is impatient, Because I got my shit together, Depression, Don't Worry About It, Eventual Smut?, F/M, Frisk Doesn't Exist Anymore, Gender-Neutral Frisk, I suck at consistently using pronouns and i'm so sorry for that, I'll fix these when I know what I'm doing, I'll make it as slow as I can tho, I'm Sorry, I'm so bad at tagging, Maybe - Freeform, Or not, Reader Is Not Frisk, Slow burn? What's a slow burn, There will be only fast burns here, also there's cussing, and really really shitty puns, angsty af, hopefully there will be smut, idk i'm pretty innocent, it'll be explained later, monster hate groups, of course there's shitty puns, probably hurt/comfort later on, reader is female, this is a sans fic, who am I kidding
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-02
Updated: 2016-06-16
Packaged: 2018-06-05 21:24:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6724099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SecretlyADog/pseuds/SecretlyADog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You'd known humans sucked before, but this was ridiculous.<br/>You knew as soon as monsters came out that people would be afraid. You even knew that they'd be violent. You'd just hoped it wouldn't be on this big a scale. People trash monster's houses and belongings all the time in some places, but others seemed safe. You just assumed (or hoped) the violence wouldn't spread.<br/>But something big is coming. No one anticipated anything like this. Maybe you did, but you found yourself in the middle of it anyway.<br/>It was the price you paid for falling for a monster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. What Did You Say Back To Me?

**Author's Note:**

> Eyyyy, so, I never actually intended on writing a Sans x Reader fanfic, but I've read a ton of them and I started noticing cliches. I have nothing against cliches, but some started getting... a little irritating? I'm not gonna point out WHICH cliches I started getting irritated by, because that would seem like I'm targeting people and some of my favorite fanfics use them! But I wanted to write one where there weren't... any of the cliches I deemed unnecessary.  
> Not to say there won't be any cliches. There will probably be a hell of a lot of them. I adore some cliches.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions and all that fun stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it starts out dull. I have this bad habit of over-explaining EVERYTHING. I promise, just getting some stuff out of the way. The entire fanfic won't be filled with... random crap about the city you, as the reader, live in. Or whatever.
> 
> Annnndddd, uh, the chapters won't all be a consistent length. Some will be longer, some will be shorter. It really just depends on where I feel the best cut off point would be.

       You didn't have many friends.

       Not that you couldn't make friends. You just didn't really want any. You didn't see a reason to have people in your life when you were so content being alone. It didn't matter to you whether you lived with anyone or not. It had at first, when you'd begun your life as an adult, but now that you were more confident, you were okay with coming home to an empty apartment. Well, not completely empty. You had a cat. A very, very independent cat.

       You'd been lucky enough to find one of the few apartments that allowed pets to an extent. Your coastal city was extremely pet - and recently, monster - friendly.

       You had nothing against monsters. You'd been shocked at the news. You were surprised they existed, but who wasn't? But then of course, because humans are humans, some were outraged. Monsters had been given a hard time in most places, so they gathered in areas where people were less violent to them. A big monster hot spot was your own city, which had one of the lowest rates of violence against monsters in the US. The government had given monsters the same rights as people, but unlike some places, your city actually protected those rights. You were proud of your city council for that.

       It was about 9:30 when you woke up. You didn't have to work for several hours, but you were feeling restless. This was unusual for you; most days, you were content to be on the Internet for all of your free time, or playing some PC game. You felt like doing _something._ So, you took a shower and put on some clothes you wouldn’t mind being seen in in public. After giving Socks (you weren’t THAT uncreative; his full name was Socks Fifth Avenue) his breakfast and petting him - once, along his spine, the way he liked - you snagged your mini messenger bag (not a purse, a messenger bag!) and left your apartment.

       There was a new restaurant that had recently opened up. Though it was owned by a human, it was more monster friendly than most places in the city, and you felt the need to support it for that. Plus, you’d heard the breakfast was good. It was surprisingly busy for a- wait, what day even was it? Glancing at your phone, you realized your subconscious thought that it was Thursday had been incorrect: it was Friday. You groaned softly, realizing that this meant a late night at work for you, and then brought your attention back to the matter at hand. Breakfast. Right.

       You were seated at your table, and they took your drink order. While you waited, you noticed a commotion coming from a booth near the front windows. Oh jeez, there was a lone monster sitting there. At least, you were pretty sure they were a monster. You didn’t think someone would be weird enough to dress up a Halloween decoration and set it up at a table as if it were eating. Guilt flooded you as soon as you had that thought. _Come on, just because he’s a skeleton doesn’t mean he deserves to be compared to a Halloween decoration,_ you silently berated yourself, feeling partially embarrassed. After you tore your thoughts away from his (was it a he? It could’ve been a she, you didn’t want to assume) looks, you realized he was being insulted by the human standing there. So some speciesist scum bag had come to this restaurant, this CLEARLY monster friendly restaurant, and then proceeded to insult the other customers. Maybe they’d purposely come here; didn’t people do that in the comment section of famous YouTubers? Click on the video just to say “This guy sucks and so-and-so is way better”? You weren’t going to stand for it. It was annoying on YouTube, but it was just wrong here.

       You stood and marched over, placing yourself between the monster and the human. The woman looked shocked that you were glaring at her. “What, are you a monster lover? Come here to tell me what I’m doing is wrong? Betray your own species?” she sneered at you. The anger inside you simmered with every word.

      “Oh, no. I’m not gonna tell you what you’re doing is wrong. I know how you people think,” you growled in response. Knowing that what you were about to say next should not be heard by everyone, you lowered your voice. “I’m just here to tell you to fuck off. You don’t need to make his life miserable just because he looks different. Humans have been doing that to each other for too long. Monsters are just like us.”

       “No they aren’t! You don’t get it, do you?!” the woman hissed.

       “Hmm, you have a point there. Monsters are way more kind than humans have ever been.” The woman seemed baffled that you could even suggest monsters were better than humans in any way. “Now get the fuck out of here, or you won’t like what happens next.”

       She looked about ready to retort, but suddenly someone who appeared to be a security guard appeared next to her. “What’s going on? Is this woman bothering you, ma’am?”

       “Oh, she’s bothering me plenty. But as for what’s going on, well…” You pointed behind you to where the monster was sitting with your thumb. The guard assessed the situation and nodded.

       “I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” he said calmly to the ignorant woman. She once again tried to say something, but he cut her off with a warning. “If you don’t leave quietly, I’ll have you escorted off the premises.”

       The woman huffed and stormed off.

       The guard smiled at you. “We knew this would happen. Unfortunate, but hey, it got me a job. Sorry I didn’t notice her sooner. Hope she didn’t give you too much trouble.”

       You shook your head, smiling back at him, and then turned to the skeleton monster as the guard walked away. The skeleton was watching you carefully, his white pupils trained on your face. He seemed relieved, confused, and amazed all at the same time. He was smiling, but it seemed like something he always did rather than a reaction, since he had been doing it before you intervened...

       “On behalf of my species, I’m sorry,” you managed to get out before a loud voice startled you.

      “HUMAN!”

       You whipped around, eyes wide in surprise, and caught sight of the person who had yelled that. It was another skeleton monster, but this one seemed… much more skeleton-like. Where the one sitting at the booth seemed solid, almost human with his clothes, this one showed off his… skeleton-ness? And he was rushing over to you. Admittedly, you were a bit terrified.

       “HUMAN, I’M SO HAPPY YOU WERE HERE TO STAND UP FOR MY BROTHER! HE DOESN’T LIKE DOING IT HIMSELF, HE SAYS IT MAKES THINGS WORSE. I AM GLAD YOU WERE HERE TO DO IT FOR HIM!” This skeleton was very excited. You realized you had nothing to be afraid of. He LOOKED scary, but the way he presented himself was pretty endearing. You found yourself liking him already.

       “No problem,” you said cheerfully.

       “BROTHER, CAN WE INVITE THE HUMAN OVER FOR SPAGHETTI SOMETIME? I WANT TO THANK THEM!” Even speaking about you as if you were an animal or something, it just seemed to be part of who he was. You didn’t mind it.

       “you should be asking her, bro,” the short skeleton said. It was the first time you’d heard him speak, and his voice was… deep. You found yourself liking the sound of it.

       “WELL, HUMAN, WHAT DO YOU SAY? I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WOULD LIKE TO MAKE YOU SOME OF MY WORLD-FAMOUS SPAGHETTI SOMETIME, TO SHOW MY GRATITUDE!” So Papyrus was his name? #contextclues. The look his brother was giving you was slightly concerning. His smile looked more like a grimace, and he was staring up at you pleadingly.

       Not taking it for the warning it was, you looked back at Papyrus and smiled. “Sure, I’d love to.” Meh, you could make a few friends, right? Besides, monsters probably wouldn't hurt you like humans would. Monsters were way better than people at the whole "love" thing.

       Papyrus’s eye sockets sparkled. Literally. How did he do that?! Had to be magic. Monsters could do some strange things. “HAVE YOU ORDERED ALREADY, HUMAN?” When you shook your head, Papyrus bounced a little. “YOU SHOULD SIT WITH US!” His brother was now looking at you skeptically.

       “hey, paps, maybe you should let ‘em sit where they were before.” It seemed he was concerned that his brother would overwhelm you. Thoughtful, but he had no reason to be worried.

       “Nah, it’s alright.” You glanced back to your old spot to see the waitress back with your drink, looking around in confusion. When you made eye contact with her, she smiled and walked over to you.

       “Are you sitting here now?” she asked politely.

       “I guess so,” you laughed, and sat across from Papyrus’s still nameless brother. The waitress put your drink down in front of you, and you thanked her.

       “You guys need a few minutes? I heard someone got kicked out, probably had to do with you guys, huh?” She smiled apologetically.

       “IT’S OKAY, THIS KIND HUMAN HELPED US!” Papyrus said. The waitress’s smile grew.

       “Good good! I’ll be back in a little bit,” she said before rushing off.

       As Papyrus sat next to his brother, a realization struck you. “Ah! I haven’t introduced myself! I’m (Y/N).”

       The shorter skeleton brother smiled. Or at least you thought he did. It was hard to tell when he was always smiling. At the very least, his grin grew wider. “well, this is my cool bro papyrus. as for me…” He reached a skeletal hand across the table, and you took it with only a moment’s hesitation. “... i’m sans. sans the skeleton.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out I missed out on the chance to make a Madcap reference, so I edited it. Because I love Madcap.


	2. Inferno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You start to grow suspicious of Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promised myself daily updates and that's already almost gone to hell. This chapter is short and sucks because I'm really tired but... DAILY UPDATES.  
> Trying to fit plot into a chapter that you're half assing is really hard, guys.  
> 

       Sans liked puns. Man, he liked puns.

       He seemed to like them even more if they pissed Papyrus off, which you admittedly found hilarious as well. Puns weren't your favorite type of joke, they got annoying after a while, but you enjoyed Sans’s. After eating breakfast together, Papyrus asked for your phone number. He promised he would text you and you guys went your separate ways. What now?

       You realized you were within walking distance of the mall. Well, why not? Shopping could be fun. You haven't really done that in a while. Not since… no, don't let your thoughts go down that road. If you get caught up thinking negatively now, you'd just go back home and do what you always did: nothing.

       So you went to the mall, ignoring your thoughts. While there, you remembered something from your conversation; you had asked the skeleton brothers what their favorite music was, and while Papyrus preferred Napstablook’s music, Sans had just shrugged and avoided the question. You had prompted him, and… he’d admitted he didn’t really listen to music. You were going to change that.

       Something about Sans reminded you of you. He looked tired and slightly sad, and you had a feeling you knew why, at least partially. After all, you knew how it felt. Based on this, you had a few ideas of albums to get him started on. You went into the CD store, glancing around and strolling down the appropriately labeled aisle. You snagged the black album off the shelf and brought it to checkout. You’d get him another one later. This was fine for starting out.

       Well, if you were giving Sans a gift (even if that gift was just to push your music taste on him), you figured you’d might as well get Papyrus one. After finding a small cooking store, you went with the obvious; a spaghetti measuring tool. Although… wait, hadn’t someone mentioned something about baking? You didn’t remember which skeleton brother had, but you bought a cookbook full of dessert recipes anyway. Paying for it wasn’t an issue; you didn’t buy much for yourself other than food, and you automatically took your rent out of your paycheck, just leaving behind what you could spend for the next few weeks.

       By the time you were done looking around, it was time to go back to your apartment and prepare for work.

       You tried to ignore the fact that it would be a busy night.

*                       *                       *

       At least you’d been right; you worked from four till one in the morning. The restaurant you worked at usually wasn’t open that late! But unfortunately, once the customers were gone, there was plenty more to do before you could leave. You were positively exhausted once you got home. Socks didn’t leave his place on the couch, didn’t even acknowledge the fact that you were there. Thanks, bud. You didn’t completely blame him, though; you wouldn’t have woken up either. Your phone started buzzing the second it turned on and got its bearings; you had some random notifications from apps, and a few text messages from two different numbers.

        **????,** **5:36 PM:** HELLO HUMAN! IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS

        **????, 5:37 PM:** I WAS WONDERING WHEN THE BEST TIME FOR YOU TO COME OVER FOR SPAGHETTI IS!

       You smiled sleepily at your phone.

        **Me, 1:28 AM:** Hey Papyrus! Sorry, I was working. Sunday afternoon would be great, I don't have anything to do then!

       You added him to your contacts and looked at the other message.

        **?????, 6:01 PM:** knock knock

        **Me, 1:30 AM:** Sans?

       After getting those cleared, you left your phone on the arm of the couch and went to your bathroom to brush your teeth and change into pajamas. When you returned, you were surprised to see another message.

        **?????, 1:32 AM:** you're supposed to say “who's there”

       You were almost certain this was Sans.

        **Me, 1:37 AM:** Who's there?

        **?????, 1:38 AM:** water

        **Me, 1:38 AM:** Water who?

        **?????, 1:39 AM:** water you still awake for?

       If you had any doubt in your mind that this was Sans before, it was completely gone now.

        **Me, 1:40 AM:** I have a valid reason, just got home from work. Now what's YOUR excuse?

        **Sans the nerd, 1:42 AM:** can't sleep.

       You pursed your lips as this added to the growing pile of evidence. Sans didn't seem very happy. There was something wrong. Some other people would think he's just a night person, perhaps, but you'd seen the signs before in yourself.

        **Me, 1:44 AM:** You alright there, bud? As amazing as it must be to talk to me, you must be exhausted. Do you need help sleeping?

       That burst of confidence was fake, of course. That's what you'd been doing for the past few months. Fake it till you make it had become your motto.

        **Sans the nerd, 1:47 AM:** i’m all good. i don’t usually get a skele-ton of sleep. no big deal.

       More confirmation.

        **Me, 1:48 AM:** If you say so. I'm going to bed, but I've got a gift for you so we should meet up somewhere tomorrow. Preferably a house where we can listen to it. Spoiler alert: it's music.

        **Sans the nerd, 1:48 AM:** cool. i’ll go to your place since you'll see mine soon anyway. where do ya live?

       What harm could it do to let him come to your apartment? He obviously wasn't a threat. You could tell just by that hour or so you spent around him and his brother. Plus, you really wanted to get to the bottom of this vibe you were getting from him. You knew letting him listen, really _listen_ , to this music would let you do that, just a little more. You didn't want anyone to suffer as you had from this. You wanted to help.

       You told him your address and that you were going to bed. You exchanged “good night”s and turned your phone off to charge.

       With determination flooding you, you went to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh yeah; the "black album"'s identity is only really hinted at, but honestly, it's Blurryface. I probably won't even mention it by name.


	3. Found You Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your cat boops the short skeleton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I try to use asterisks to mark a change in POV! Hopefully that's not too confusing.

       Sans knew you were trying to figure him out. He'd noticed you staring at him at breakfast when Papyrus wasn’t looking, narrowing your eyes and tilting your head ever so slightly. He wasn't trying to… HIDE anything, per se. He just didn't want you to know things. After all, you'd just met.

       Much to his amusement, you'd taken it as some personal offense when he said he didn't really listen to music. Sans had seen determination in your eyes and had nearly watched your thought process through your expressions alone, so when you revealed you'd gotten him a gift, he was unsurprised to hear that it was music. The thing that surprised him was that you had gotten him anything at all. If anything, you seemed to like Papyrus more while you three had been eating. You'd engaged in long, passionate conversations with him.

       Although maybe that was due to the fact that Sans had barely talked unless it was to say a pun or answer your questions. Still.

       He actually recognized your apartment building; it had been one of the ones he and Papyrus looked into before they decided they definitely wanted a house. Sans hadn't been on your floor, exactly, but on the one below it. Good enough for him. That way, he could teleport there and take the elevator up one. (He could TRY teleporting to your floor, but teleporting places he'd never been was rather dangerous.)

       Sans teleported right next to the elevator, as planned. That was risky in its own way; anyone could’ve been there to see him. Luck was on his side, though, and no one was in the hallway. He pressed a button and the elevator slowly made its way toward him.

*             *             *

       Sans showed up a minute or two after you texted him telling him you were ready for him to show up whenever. When you raised an eyebrow at him, he just chuckled and said “shortcut.” Something to do with magic, maybe? Monsters were weird.

       You led him to the speaker you had set up in your living room. Socks lightly made his way over to inspect this intruder in his home, looking up at him emotionlessly. Sans stared down at the cat in wonder. “What, never seen a cat before?”

       “nah, i have. just not this close.” Socks continued staring at Sans, standing at his feet. Sans gingerly reached down to pet him, and Socks meowed his approval, weaving around Sans’s legs to hold his attention. “you didn’t mention having a cat before. what’s it’s name?”

       “His name is Socks Fifth Avenue, but I just call ‘im Socks.”

       “nice name.”

       “Yeah, I thought so too…” you sighed. He raised a… bone brow at you. “Well, alright. I was watching this thing on TV where there were a bunch of cats for adoption or whatever, and one was named Socks Fifth Avenue. I just figured, you know, maybe they took an average name like Socks and added onto it. It sounded hella cool. I wanted to get a cat anyway, so whenever I did, I decided to name it that. Just before I got him, I saw a, uh… store in San Francisco.” Before Sans even had the chance to be confused, you elaborated. “San Francisco is this big city a few hours from here. ANYWAY, I saw this store there. Called  _ Saks _ Fifth Avenue.” Sans snickered, seeing where this was going. “And like, I felt… betrayed, you know? I thought it was this cool, original name, but instead it was a damn pun.” Socks looked up at you, like he knew you were talking about him. Sans had this… amused grin on his face. He was laughing at your pain. Rude.

       “i think i like this cat already.”

       “I mean, I guess it’s my fault for still naming him that. But it still sounds cool! Just pretend it isn’t a pun or something.” You could tell by Sans’s mischievous expression that there was no way he was going to pretend it wasn’t a pun. Well, if he wasn’t going to pretend, a distraction would have to do. “Come on, let’s listen to some music.”

       At first, you played him some of your favorite songs. You just sat on the floor with him and talked while Socks got comfortable in Sans’s lap. As you described exactly what it was that you loved about the songs, he… listened. Not many people did that. His full attention was on you: his white pupils were trained to your face, and every so often, he nodded slightly. You weren’t gonna lie; it felt amazing.

       “Alright, these songs are great and all, but they aren’t your gift. These ones are. Pay close attention to the lyrics.” You put the new CD in the player and immediately skipped to track 13. Sans watched you in confusion but didn’t say anything. He just listened to the song carefully, as you instructed. The lyrics didn’t make sense to him at first, but as he heard more, his face slowly relaxed in comprehension. And then he tensed.

_ ‘Listen, I know this one's a contradiction because of how happy it sounds but the lyrics are so down. It's ok though, because it represents - wait, better yet, it is! - who I feel I am right now.’ _

       Sans suddenly didn’t have pupils. He was also sweating. A lot.

*     *     *

      You had to have known.

      There was no other explanation. Why else would you skip to almost the last song? This was the first song you were showing him, and he was shocked. You were watching him carefully, and he could see it in your eyes; you just knew.

       And so he’d do the thing he did best. Lie by omission.

       “Yo Sans, you alright?” You were concerned for him because you knew. Damn it.

       “yeah, kid. ‘m fine.”

       “You sure?”

       Sans didn’t really like lying. He already disliked lying to you, and he  _ hated _ lying to his brother. But it was necessary. He couldn’t just tell everyone that there had been a child who could somehow control time in the Underground. Frisk didn’t even exist anymore, and no one seemed to remember them! How was he supposed to explain this to anyone if the kid who did all this was gone? There was no proof except his memories and lingering mental instability. He  _ knew _ it all happened, but no one else would believe him. He wouldn’t believe him either.

       “i’m sure.”

       You didn’t seem convinced. “Well, I mean, I know we just met, but… maybe that makes it even better. I’m nearly a stranger, so I won’t be biased. I… guess what I’m trying to say is, if you need to… rant to anyone about anything… someone who won’t judge you or whatever, I’m always here. I uh, I had-” You put too much emphasis on ‘had’, Sans noticed, “-depression too. I know how it feels.”

       There was no way he could tell the other monsters what he knew. Could he tell you? An almost-friend who was slowly getting to know him better than most people? No. It was too soon. Maybe he could tell you if he really wasn’t afraid of losing you, but he sort of was. Just a little. Sans  _ wanted _ to be your friend. He liked the way he could tell what you were thinking just by the look on your face, and he even liked the way you could see right through him. Heh. Everyone could see right through him, though.

       Sans liked the way you clearly thought of others whenever you did things. He wondered where your other friends were. It seemed like you didn't have any-

       “Sans?”

       He looked up at you. “yeah?”

       “Did I… cross a line?”

       Sans blinked. “what? no. and yeah, i’m sure.” 

       You smirked at him. “Good. I’m a good friend, I swear. Wouldn't want you running off before you find that out for yourself!”

       Sans chuckled, but he could tell you didn't mean it. He  _ would _ have to find out for himself, wouldn't he? He'd be sure to tell you the results once he had them.

       “i’m sure you are, kid.” Sans meant it.

       Socks was staring at Sans. You noticed before Sans did. You both stared at Socks, and you knew he was up to something. Cats didn't just stare at something for no reason. Sans seemed concerned by his intense staring, but then... Socks gently raised a paw, and  _ smack! _

       “He booped you!” you squealed, watching as Sans froze and sweated a little. Socks’ paw was now resting between Sans’s now wide eyes. Sans was fearfully staring at the cat.

       “what?”

       “He likes you.”

       “oh. cool.” Sans seemed a bit overwhelmed. Socks took his paw off and stalked into the kitchen area. You giggled at the amazed look on Sans’s face. It was as if he hadn't expected the cat to willingly touch him. 

       “C’mon. Let's listen to more music.”

*            *            *

       Sans ended up liking the music you showed him. It was upbeat but had meaning. You offered him the disk as soon as he decided it was time to leave, and he accepted it gratefully.

       When he got home, Papyrus was in the kitchen, and he seemed excited. “WHAT DID YOU DO WITH THE HUMAN, BROTHER?”

       “she gave me music. human music.”

       “SHE GAVE YOU A GIFT?! SHE IS A VERY KIND HUMAN! I AM EXCITED TO SEE HER TOMORROW!”

       “yea. she's cool.”

       “DO YOU THINK SHE'S OUR FRIEND NOW?”

       Sans considered this for a moment. He remembered how your eyes lit up when you spoke to Papyrus, and how every time you said something funny or deep to Sans, you would glance over at him to see his response. It was kinda cute.

       “yeah. i think she is.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh the "Socks Fifth Avenue" thing actually happened to me, except I didn't get a cat (I still don't have a cat) before discovering it was a store. I was devastated.


	4. It Feels Like I'm Really Living Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Papyrus! :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Daily updates" my ass.  
> I am so sorry. It took me way more effort to write this chapter than usual and I'm not even sure why. It's so much easier to write about Sans.  
> As a result of my lack of motivation, this is way shorter than it should be and is actually longer than it would have been had I not broken my "daily update" rule.  
> It is pathetically short. I am so sorry.

       You were kind of really glad that you’d spent that Saturday with Sans, because Sunday was all about Papyrus. Not that you minded. At all. You adored Papyrus; his enthusiasm, his self confidence, the way he built himself up but dragged everyone up with him. Just being around him raised your self esteem, and that’s exactly what you wanted. You strived to be as positive as him. He seemed pleased by your self confidence. You weren’t about to tell him that it was faked.

       Making spaghetti with him was interesting. He tried to put a lot of weird stuff in it, like… glitter. Glitter? Why glitter? You had to tell him that humans couldn't consume glitter before he even considered taking it out of the recipe. Sans even had to intervene, saying it would make you really sick (which may or may not have been a lie) and Papyrus finally relented. 

       As you guys sat down to eat, you finally understood the look Sans had given you at breakfast when you’d first been invited to this. He’d been trying to warn you. Unfortunately, you hadn’t been able to read his expression well because you didn’t know him that well yet. The look on his face now… another warning with a hint of “I told you so”. You rolled your eyes at him and tried the spaghetti.

       It was… good? No. Edible. Edible was the word. It wasn't amazingly terrible, but it wasn't… it wasn't good. Definitely leaning toward bad. That much you knew.

       “This is…” You didn’t have it in you to tell the truth. “This is amazing, Papyrus!” Perfect amount of faked enthusiasm. Sans’s expression relaxed and he grinned at you, casually flashing a thumbs up. Oh good, approval from the short skeleton brother!

       “NYEH HEH HEH, OF COURSE IT IS, HUMAN! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

       Riiiiight. You still had to finish it.

       Well… for Papyrus… you’d eat as much as you could.

 

       You had to stop before you were full. You just couldn’t take another bite. At least you weren’t hungry anymore…

       After he was finished eating as well, Papyrus’s eyes suddenly lit up. He seemed to have an idea.

       “HUMAN, HAVE YOU EVER WATCHED METTATON?”

       That one TV star? You'd seen him on a few late night shows and YouTube videos. He just… rubbed you the wrong way. You were sure he wasn't a bad guy, but something about his personality irritated you.

       “I haven't, actually. Not an entire show.”

       “WE SHOULD WATCH ONE OF HIS MOVIES! HE'S REALLY GREAT AT ACTING.”

       “Sounds good.” You were indifferent to his work for now. Sans, having been mostly absent throughout the night except at dinner and to prevent you from getting poisoned, took this moment to once again retreat to his room. That worried you slightly, because he had this strange… glint in his eyes when Mettaton was mentioned. You’d recognized it as some concealed negative emotion. Seemed like he didn’t like Mettaton too much…

       You and Papyrus watched Mettaton’s first human-produced movie together. You had to admit, self-righteous or not, he was good at acting. Sans reappeared a few minutes before the movie ended. As he descended the stairs, he was giving you this look. Another pleading look. But what was it he was trying to warn you about this time, if it WAS a warning?

       The movie ended, and Papyrus threw his arms up in excitement. “HUMAN! HOW DID YOU LIKE THE MOVIE?”

       “It was pretty good! Thanks for showing me, Papyrus.” It really was good, but you still didn’t like Mettaton much.

       “YOU SHOULD MEET METTATON! HE WOULD LOVE TO MEET ANOTHER FAN!” ‘Fan’ was a strong word, but you weren’t about to disappoint Papyrus. That’d be like kicking a puppy, and you were very much against kicking puppies. Plus, maybe you could shake this unfounded dislike. Surely Mettaton was better in person?

       “Yeah, that’d be cool.” Sans glanced over at you, sensing your faux enthusiasm was wearing thin.

       “GREAT! WE CAN GO VISIT HIM TOGETHER! I HAVEN’T SEEN HIM IN A WHILE ANYWAY. THEN YOU CAN MEET UNDYNE AND ALPHYS TOO!” Papyrus stood quickly. 

       You’d heard those two mentioned once or twice, but wait…

       “Uhh, when, Papyrus?”

       Sans was giving you another look. He knew damn well how impossible it was to say no to Papyrus. “good luck, kid,” he muttered under his breath before snagging something off the side table next to him and turning his attention to a... quantum physics book…?

       “RIGHT NOW!”

       He had to be kidding.


	5. Expectations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You visit the calculator and then Sans is a buttface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reader's expectations never got high.  
> In fact, they were pretty low when it came to Mettaton.
> 
> And god, I update chapters so consistently, huh?  
> I think this one is on the longer side. At the very least, it was 3 pages in Docs and that's what I aim for.

        He wasn't kidding,

       “Hello, darling! Oh, who's this?” Mettaton was in his rectangle model, which made it both slightly less and slightly more intimidating to meet him. His screen had displayed a red exclamation point as he realized you were there.

       “HELLO, METTATON!” Papyrus was fangirlling. His eye sockets were sparkling. “THIS IS MY NEW FRIEND ______! SHE STOOD UP TO A MEAN HUMAN FOR MY BROTHER!”

       Mettaton made a whirring noise, somehow conveying that he was looking over you in interest. “Well hello, beautiful!” Oh God. Please no. Not one of these types, anything but one of these types. You probably should’ve known.

       “Hi Mettaton,” you said as cheerfully as you could. He seemed about to say something else before there was suddenly a lot of noise behind him.

       “PAPYRUS!” a voice you didn’t recognize yelled. A blue... fish woman…? came to the door, looking over Mettaton. Was this Undyne? Papyrus had mentioned her, and suddenly the fish pun Sans had said at dinner made sense. “HEY PUNK! Oh, who’s this?”

       Papyrus inhaled to introduce you again, but Mettaton beat him to it. “_____ here helped the smiley bag of bones out-”

       “Hey, come on, he has a name,” you growled irritably. Any little thing he said would annoy you, you could tell already. This would be a long day. Undyne just looked at you with a blank expression, and suddenly she broke out in a toothy grin.

       “She’s feisty. I like her! HEY BABE!” she suddenly called out to an invisible room. “Come check out the human Papyrus became friends with!” Undyne pushed Mettaton out of the way, grumbling something along the lines of “Move, ya calculator”, and Mettaton weakly protested. A small yellow dinosaur-lizard-looking monster came to the door just as Undyne made room. She looked up at you nervously, holding her hands close to her chest.

       “H-hi!” She gave you a small smile.

       “THIS IS ____! _____, THIS IS DR. ALPHYS. SHE WAS THE ROYAL SCIENTIST BACK IN THE UNDERGROUND!” Royal scientist, huh…? Interesting. You found yourself wondering what she knew. Wait, didn't she build Mettaton…?

       “You built him?” you asked, eyes widening as you pointed at the rectangle.

       “Yep! Alphys built the calculator because she's hella smart!” Alphys blushed at her girlfriend’s praise. Mettaton looked rather peeved.

       “W-well, t-technically I built his, um, body. He's just… possessing it…?” Wait, you'd heard about this before. Mettaton had a cousin he occasionally advertised, a ghost called Napstablook whose music was actually pretty good. Was Mettaton a ghost too?

       “Don't sell yourself short, darling! My body is amazing!” Mettaton purred. Then he paused. “... Well, my _new_ body is amazing.”

       “Oh! Hey! We just finished watching the first Mew Mew Kissy Cutie. You guys wanna join us for the second one?” Undyne seemed pumped up. When _didn't_ she seem pumped up? Wait, Mew Mew… what?

       “Uhhh…”

       “COME ON, HUMAN! IT'LL BE FUN!” Guess you didn't have a choice. Papyrus was already dragging you into the house. You wouldn't have been able to say no to him either way.

 

       As it turned out, Mew Mew Kissy Cutie was an anime. You weren’t a huge fan of anime; you’d only watched a couple and could never work up the motivation to watch an entire series, not even a short one. With these monsters, though, these new friends, it turned out to be fairly easy. Alphys ranted about the sequel, you think. It was hard to remember. Either way, you had enjoyed the time with them. Undyne looked over in approval every time you raved about how cool something was, no matter how unrealistic. After you'd all finished watching it, you realized Undyne was staring at you, a grin slowly making its way across her face. “What?” you asked cautiously. You weren't sure if you had done something unintentionally embarrassing or not.

       “Soooo, _____…” she said slowly, bringing her legs up on the couch and sitting cross-legged, facing you. Her grin was full blown now. “You dating anyone?”

       Alphys suddenly turned and smiled too, blushing. “Y-yeah, are you?”

       You came out to have a good time and you were honestly feeling so attacked right now.

       You're being interrogated and this is not okay.

       “N...no…?” You suddenly wished Sans was there. He'd go along with it but he'd also quickly see how much this was making you uncomfortable. He was good at changing subjects.

       “Why not? We could set you up with someone, you know-”

       You were 90% sure Undyne was doing this to test you. Or generally annoy you. Or something. Something _fishy_ was happening here… Oh God, now you were making puns in your head. Relay this to Sans or never speak of it? Decisions, decisions.

       Mettaton seemed uninterested, and Papyrus was stomping where he sat. “DO NOT HAVE THIS-” Air quotes “-‘GIRL TALK’ WHILE I’M HERE!” Papyrus was looking at the two women in exasperation, as if they’d talked about this before. They both looked unapologetic; Alphys was covering her mouth with her hand, suppressing giggles. “... BUT, ____, IF YOU EVER NEED DATING TIPS, I AM THE MASTER OF THAT! I’VE ONLY BEEN ON-” Suddenly, he frowned, as if trying to remember something… “ER… NO DATES? BUT I AM AN EXPERT! I WOULD EXECUTE ONE PERFECTLY!”

       Something about that temporary memory glitch weirded you out, as if both you and Papyrus had been expecting a different answer. The awkwardness left behind by that faded quickly, and you made a note to remember that. Something told you you’d need it for later.

       “Darling, if you want to take a date somewhere, I have this _wonderful_ resort…”

       They all chattered to you and you, feeling overwhelmed, sent out a cry for help.

        **Me, 7:46 PM:** They’re being weird about dating

        **Me, 7:46 PM:** send help

        **That one short guy, 7:48:** k

       Oh jeez, you’d forgotten you changed his name. You weren’t quick enough to hold back a snicker, but the monsters didn’t notice anyway. They were still talking about where the best place was to have a date, who they could set you up with, what gift you should bring. Jesus, you just met these people, what was happening?!

        You weren't actually expecting Sans to come to the rescue. He was kidding. He'd leave you there all alone. Right when you seriously considered curling into a ball and praying for death, Sans came strolling out of the kitchen, holding a bottle of ketchup. “hey,” he said casually, grinning like a maniac.

       Undyne glared at him. “When did you get here, punk?!”

       “Must’ve invited himself over. Guess he thought something fishy was going on,” you drawled, not willing to miss out on an opportunity to use your pun.

       Sans chuckled. “nah, i just came here to steal your ketchup.” He briefly glanced at you before... downing the whole bottle. Dammit Sans, you were supposed to make things less weird! This wasn’t helping! He smirked at your baffled expression. Bastard.

       Undyne narrowed her eyes at you. “You didn’t! You had to call this nerd for help?! We were just teasin’ ya!”

       You blushed slightly and shrugged. “What can I say? I guess I’m just too soft to handle it.” Sans gave you a lopsided smile while everyone else struggled to process what you were implying.

       Alphys’s eyes lit up. “O-oh! I get it! B-because he’s made of bone, so he’s, um… not soft… and…”

       Undyne glared at you. “That was awful.” Poor Papyrus looked resigned. He didn’t have it in him to fight back this time, and was just sighing every time a pun was said.

       When you bit back a yawn, Sans looked at you seriously. Why were you yawning? It wasn’t even eight yet. Sans stepped forward anyway, setting down his now empty bottle and grabbing your wrist. “time for you to go home.” The other monsters whined in protest.

       “Go home go bed,” you muttered to yourself quietly. Sans ignored you, probably because he had no idea you were even saying words, and suddenly you weren’t in Undyne’s living room anymore.

       You looked around, disoriented. This was your apartment… “W… what?”

       Socks seemed to care very little that you had appeared out of thin air, because he was now trotting up to Sans and frantically meowing, trying to get his attention. “hey, little guy,” Sans cooed, kneeling down to pet him and ignoring your confusion entirely in favor of your cat. You couldn’t even focus on wondering how they’d bonded so quickly, you were too busy wondering _how the hell you got back to your apartment._

       “Sans,” you said, barely managing to sound calm.

       “mmhm?”

       “What the hell was that?”

       “shortcut.” Though Sans was still looking at Socks, he gave you a shit-eating grin.

       You were gonna wipe that stupid smile off his face if he didn’t start explaining soon.


	6. A Taker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FEELINGS.

       “So you can TELEPORT? And you didn't tell me.”

       “didn't think ya’d need to know.”

       “Sans, we're gonna be the bestest of friends and you didn't think to tell me about that?”

       “since when were we gonna be best friends?”

       “Sans, that hurts. It really does.”

       “... sorry?”

       There was a ridiculous amount of sarcasm in this conversation. It was your thing, and Sans was easily keeping up.

       “how can you ever forgive me?”

       Wait, this was your chance. You really wanted to see what he looked like flustered. Or at least how he responded to physical affection.

       “I will accept a hug. Or a kiss. On the cheek or whatever. But you can't do that, can you, bone boy?” A smirk. Yes, this is what you wanted. You wanted to be confident again. This was good.

       Bullseye! Sans turned blue. You recognized this blue on his cheeks as his soft blush. You won! He must've seen the delight on your face, because suddenly he grinned through the blush. “can't resist me, huh, kid?” The message was clear. Two could play at this game.

       “Just give me a hug, you idiot,” you grumbled, slightly salty that he'd caught on so quickly. His blush slightly intensified but his grin widened. He won and he knew it, the clever bastard. He leaned toward you, arms open. You weren't going to let him off that easily. You practically tackled Sans; lunging at him with all the energy you had left.

       Sans was staring up at you with wide eyes. You smiled mischievously, positioned yourself next to him, and then… pushed him off the couch.

       “oof!” He stared up at you again, but this time the little actor’s expression was full of hurt. “how could you do that to me? i thought we were gonna be the… uh, bestest of friends?”

       “No, you ruined it.” You weren’t as good at acting. Your smile was still present.

       “that hurts. it really does.”

       That was a low blow. You threw a throw pillow (heh) at him. It hit him directly in the face and he went limp. Well, limper than before. “Shut up, Sans!”

       “what, you go from sarcasm to flirting and you blame me for going back to sarcasm?”

       “No, you’re just being mean now.”

       “you didn’t have to throw a pillow at me.”

       “It’s called a throw pillow for a reason.”

       “... is it really called a throw pillow?”

       “It is! Not actually to throw at people, but yeah. No kidding.”

       “wow.”

       You both just sat there in silence for a moment; you laying on the couch, Sans laying on the floor with the pillow on his face.

       “Hey Sans. You like stars?”

       “yeah.”

       You had an idea. “C’mon.” You stood up, grabbing his hand and forcing him to his feet as well. He glared at you half heartedly in protest but had to move quickly to catch up with you as you threw the door to your apartment open and rushed down the hall.

       “where are we going?” Sans huffed, trying to keep up with your brisk pace.

       “Shh.” You went to the elevator and pushed the button for the highest floor. Sans stared at you in confusion but didn’t question it. You were glad you’d installed that one constellation app on your phone on a whim. Sans would love this.

       The elevator started its ascent, and it was dead silent in there until the doors opened again. “Come on!” you said excitedly, quickly walking over to the locked roof access door. It had a code to unlock it that was given to people who asked for it and lived in the apartment. The code changed every week or so, just in case, but you always asked as soon as it changed. You punched the numbers in and opened the door. Sans seemed wary but followed you without a word. You two walked up the short flight of stairs (you were sure you’d heard Sans let out a huff of laziness when he saw them) and emerged on the roof. Sans immediately turned his eyes to the sky and let out a soft noise of surprise. The stars, while not as bright as they could be because of the light pollution, were still there and still beautiful. You sat against the wall of the roof access and watched Sans. He was frozen and his jaw was slightly hanging open. Admittedly, it was pretty adorable.

       “Sometime I’ll have to take you out and show you the stars in the countryside. You can see ‘em so much clearer out there.” Sans snapped his attention back to you and sat down beside you. You took out your phone and opened the constellation app, trying to make sense of any of the stars. People always acted as if finding constellations was as easy as spotting different cars in a parking lot, but it was never like that with you. Occasionally, you’d find the little dipper (or… was it the big dipper? You weren’t even sure it was either of those!) but otherwise, you just saw stars. After fumbling with it for a while, trying to find  _ something, _ you decided to just hand it over to Sans. He was staring at you intently, as if lost in thought. You tilted your head at him and that blue blush made another appearance as he returned to the present and quickly snagged your phone. Sans studied a constellation for a moment, then glanced up at the sky, looking extremely focused.

       “there.” He pointed up at a specific point. You tried and failed to see some sort of pattern. Sans saw your struggling and scooted closer, leaning his head near yours and narrowing his eyes skyward. You tried hard not to blush at the proximity. He grabbed your hand and aimed it at the sky, so you made a fist excluding your index finger. He used it to point at stars. “right there, those three, that’s orion’s belt. and there’s the rest of ‘im. kinda hard to see, but…” Sans released your hand but didn’t move his head, and there was a strange feeling in your chest, like your heart was being squeezed. Oh no, that wasn’t what you thought it was, was it? It almost definitely was. You weren’t supposed to let anyone this close, what were you doing?! Well, it was too late now. Couldn’t stop the feelings when they already existed.

       Instead of holding his own head up, he let it fall and started resting it on your shoulder. The funny feeling intensified. 

       No way, you guys hadn’t even been friends that long. Granted, you’d spent pretty much most of your free time hanging out, and he was really nice and fun to be around, but…

       Somehow, at the same time, you both started blushing. You could see a blue glow out of the corner of your eye, and God it was cute.

       Neither of you really wanted to get up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this considered fast burn? I don't know. I thought we were getting too friendly so I may have overcorrected BUT I'm impatient. You read the tags, you knew this was going to happen.


	7. A Giver

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mAKE A MOVE, SANSY

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry. I haven't updated this in almost a month. I was gonna write this sooner but there were finals and then I worked on Coldtale and then I got my computer taken away and then I went on DATES and then Heathens came out and...  
> yeah. anyway.  
> ENJOY THIS  
> HOPEFULLY IT WON'T TAKE ALMOST A MONTH NEXT TIME

       Sans watched as you tried to find a constellation to show him and couldn’t help but think about how pretty you were. You two got along well and… he kind of wanted to kiss you. Which… hadn’t really happened to him before. There was really no other time he could remember where he felt like this. He never really had time to, with the resets and all… There was no reason to. But now… now that the resets seemed to be gone…

       You were looking at him now. Sans snapped out of it and realized you’d given up. He took your phone and quickly memorized a constellation, then looked for it in the sky. He had studied the stars since they had gotten to the surface and looking for constellations came naturally to him. It was a form of science and he loved it, but it also meant they’d made it. No one had the ability to reset anymore, and the stars were a more infallible symbol of freedom than nearly anything; or at least, they were his favorite symbol.

       And yeah, he may have tried to find the group of stars quickly just to impress you.

       It worked, though; you seemed a bit surprised when he pointed out the belt that easily. You still couldn’t see it, and Sans moved closer to you before he even realized what he was doing. He was so close… it felt nice. He didn’t want to move. After a moment of hesitation, he rested his head on your shoulder. You didn’t react negatively. In fact, from here, he could faintly sense your pulse - whether he heard or felt it, he wasn’t sure - but your heartbeat sped up. You subconsciously shifted toward him. He felt a fluttering in his ribcage.

       How long you guys just sat there, Sans wasn’t sure. It had to have been a while. Finally, you silently stood, offered your hand to him, and you two went back to your apartment. It didn’t seem like you wanted him to leave, but it was getting pretty late. He sat down on your couch anyway.

       You eyed him as if you wanted to say something important, but instead asked “You want anything?” while you wandered toward the kitchen.

       “ketchup?”

       You made a face at him and left him to his thoughts.

       Sans wasn’t stupid. He knew what happened to people who were in relationships with monsters. Really, he wanted to ask you on a date, just to see where this would go, but… he didn’t want to drag you down with them. He wouldn’t have blamed you for turning him down for the same reason.

      When you returned with a ketchup bottle and a blue and yellow can for yourself, you landed ungracefully on the couch next to him. Sans took the bottle and tapped the side with his phalanges, getting lost in his thoughts.

       Neither of you said anything for a while, until… “hey. so.”

       You looked over at him curiously and a bit suspiciously. “Yeah?”

       “i uh. i really want to ask you out on a date. but. y’know. don’t wanna ruin your life.” Sans looked at you from the corner of his eye socket, unwilling to meet your gaze directly.

       He heard you inhale sharply in what appeared to be shock. “Wait, really?”

       “yeah.” 

       Sans waited tensely for a response.

       “Well…” You laughed nervously. “I mean… you wouldn’t be ruining my life. Actually… this is pretty awesome.”

       A pleasant feeling hummed through his ribcage. “but i mean. the anti-monster people.”

       “Pffft, that doesn’t matter. You know how accepted we’d be in this city compared to other cities? Hell, they’d celebrate us. I mean, yeah, there’d always be some asshole. But that’s just how people are. I’d  _ love _ to go on a date with you.” The fluttering was back in his ribcage. You were looking over at him sheepishly.

       “i guess if you’re cool with it.” Sans rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “uh. when?”

       You shrugged. “My next day off is Wednesday…”

       Sans nodded. “sounds good.”

       You bit your lip and glanced at the time, seeming remorseful. Sans knew it was late and he knew you didn’t want him to leave, but he really should. “i’ll… talk to you later,” he said awkwardly, waving before he teleported away.

       Papyrus was almost definitely going to lecture him on how to properly date you. Sans rolled his eyes affectionately at the thought. Paps was so cool, but his advice… wasn’t always the best. Sans would never tell him that, though. 

       No, he was going to listen to all of it. Because he was a good brother.

       God, he loved his brother more than anything, but Sans would immediately come to regret his decision when Papyrus took out the dating handbook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned how much I love the skeleton brothers? Because I do. A lot.  
> This is short and lame but I wanted to put a chapter out tonight so... I'm sorry. Really.  
> ALSO I HAVE BEEN ENLISTING THE HELP OF ONADACORA AND A CONVERSATION WE HAD INSPIRED A LOT OF THIS CHAPTER.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like certain hipster bands like I do, you probably recognize the title and chapter names.  
> I'm so sorry. I love this band a lot.


End file.
